A CONGREGATION’S prayers were answered yesterday when their church survived virtually intact as the tower blocks that sandwiched it were demolished.

The outline of St Martin’s Episcopal Church emerged from thick dust clouds after two controlled explosions brought down the high-rises in Hilltown, Dundee.

Churchgoers had feared their place of worship could be crushed or severely damaged by what were the city’s two tallest landmarks. The church remained standing – but when the dust settled, the Rt Reverend Dr Nigel Peyton, Bishop of Brechin, discovered that falling rubble had “clipped” a corner of the building.

Structural engineers will inspect the walls to check there are no lasting problems.

“It was truly awesome to see the explosion, the rubble and the dust cloud,” said Bishop Peyton.

“We had been praying for it to go well, because there is always a certain risk with these things and we’ve also been praying for everyone in the community.”

It was truly awesome to see the explosion, the rubble and the dust cloud

Bishop Peyton

The church was sealed air-tight and precious fittings were protected from the risk of falling masonry and dust, while Sunday service was cancelled.

Around 600 homes and 60 business premises were evacuated and 20 streets closed off while the 25-storey Butterburn Court and Bucklemaker Court were “blown down”.

The direction of collapse was controlled by more than 10,000 detonators and delays, but the second tower, Butterburn, appeared to veer off to the side as it fell and the church was ‘winged’ by rubble.

After the explosion, William Sinclair, MD and explosives engineer with contractors Safedem, who carried out the £2.4million demolition, said: “We are pleased with the result. We have no structural damage whatsoever to the surrounding buildings.”

The tower blocks were built in 1971, but the 374 flats became increasingly difficult to let over the years.